Is と also a nominalizer? 「彼は本を手に取るとまた読み続けた」「家を出るとすぐに雨が降り始めた」

Question

I found a couple of examples where と (and not こと) seems to serve as a nominalizer.

(Segmentation is mine)

彼は本を手に取るとまた読み続けた。

人は生まれると直ぐ死に始める。

家を出ると直ぐに雨が降り始めた。

Is と a nominalizer?

Answer 1

This と is a particle conjunction that expresses a conditional. It's usually translated as "if" or "when" in English. It doesn't have anything to do with nouns.